Article
Felix Mendelssohn Manuscripts and Resources for Research at the Library of Congress

The largest part of the Library of Congress's resources for performing
research related to Felix Mendelssohn is, predictably, housed in the collections
of the Library's Music Division. While published scores of the composer's
works, biographies and journal articles are held in the Division's general
collections, the majority of primary source material such as holograph (autograph)
manuscripts and correspondence, as well as iconography and concert programs,
is held within a small number of the Division's archival collections.

Foremost among these archival collections is the Gertrude Clarke Whittall
Foundation Collection-Mendelssohn Collection (or simply the Whittall-Mendelssohn
Collection), which comprises the Division's most significant corpus
of primary source material related to the composer. A
complete finding aid, or inventory, of this collection may be examined online.
This finding aid contains a detailed list of the Collection's contents,
which includes material in a wide variety of formats. The Whittall-Mendelssohn
Collection, acquired through funds provided by Gertrude Clarke Whittall, also
includes biographical material compiled by an early Mendelssohn scholar, W.T.
Freemantle, as well as perhaps the earliest extant thematic catalog of Mendelssohn's
works, in Freemantle's hand.

The Music Division's Hans Moldenhauer Archive also contains a significant
amount of primary source material related to Mendelssohn: five (5) holograph
manuscript scores, ten (10) pieces of the composer's autograph correspondence,
one printed concert program, one ink drawing, and one engraving of Mendelssohn.
In addition to this material, the Moldenhauer Archive also contains autograph
letters of the composer's wife, Cécile (two letters), his brother
Paul (one letter), and his cousin Alexander Mendelssohn (one letter). A
dedicated Web site for the Moldenhauer Archive within the "American Memory" digital library site includes links to the collection's
finding aid as well as to accompanying images of, and essays about several
representative items held within it, may be accessed directly. A guide
to the contents of the Moldenhauer Archive is also available.

Other archival collections located in the Library's Music Division
which hold material related to Mendelssohn are the Music Division-Miscellaneous
Manuscripts Collection, the Bradbury Collection, and the Heineman Foundation
Collection.

Additional primary source material related to Mendelssohn which is held within
the Music Division's general collections is represented by two scores
in the "ML96" class (reserved for holograph manuscripts) and several
letters of the composer in the "ML94" and "ML95" classes
(reserved for correspondence).

Searching for Mendelssohn's name in the online "Performing Arts Encyclopedia,"
accessed through the website of the Library's Performing Arts Reading Room
and which highlights selected digital resources held by the Library, will
provide links to manuscript and early published musical scores of the composer,
as well as to related material such as concert programs. Similarly, performing
a search of the composer's name by means of the Library's "American Memory"
site (go to http://memory.loc.gov and
browse the "Performing Arts, Music" topic before searching) will provide links
to material related to Mendelssohn held within the Library's collections,
including complete digital images of musical scores of this composer which
were published in the United States during the nineteenth century and submitted
to the United States Copyright Office for copyright registration.

Mendelssohn Holograph Manuscripts in the Library of Congress's Music
Division

ML30.8j.M36 1820z CaseManuscript von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, aus seinem Nachlass. Early sketches by Felix with 42 measures in E-flat Major possibly for orchestra or string quartet; part of a fugue in the hand of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. 1 leaf.

ML30.8j. M46 1900z CaseCanone a 2 in B Minor, Birmingham, 25 September 1840.
Part of the Mendelssohn Family Album.

ML30.8b.M46 op. 85 no. 3 1836 CaseLieder ohne Worte in E-flat Major, published posthumously as op. 85 no. 3, for piano solo. Part of the 'Grabau Album.' Text significantly different from the published edition.

About this Item

Felix Mendelssohn Manuscripts and Resources for Research at the Library of Congress

Subject Headings

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Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix -- 1809-1847 -- -- composer

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Articles

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Songs and Music

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article

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online text

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Article. Article. The largest part of the Library of Congress's resources for performing research related to Felix Mendelssohn is, predictably, housed in the collections of the Library's Music Division. While published scores of the composer's works, biographies and journal articles are held in the Division's general collections, the majority of primary source material such as holograph (autograph) manuscripts and correspondence, as well as iconography and concert programs, is held within a small number of the Division's archival collections.

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Felix Mendelssohn Manuscripts and Resources for Research at the Library of Congress. Online Text. https://0-www.loc.gov.oasys.lib.oxy.edu/item/ihas.200156438/.

APA citation style:

Felix Mendelssohn Manuscripts and Resources for Research at the Library of Congress. [Online Text] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://0-www.loc.gov.oasys.lib.oxy.edu/item/ihas.200156438/.

MLA citation style:

Felix Mendelssohn Manuscripts and Resources for Research at the Library of Congress. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200156438/>.

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